Herbed Koofteh

I make کوفته koofteh 3-4 times a year, perhaps once every season, and every time I serve it I tell myself that I should make it more often but I don’t follow up on that. However, it is such a joy to gather the ingredients, chopping the onions, making the sauce, preparing the vegetables, mixing them all together, making small balls and finally letting them cook slowly. The aroma of fresh herbs, tomato sauce and green peppers fill the room and that is just the beginning of making this delicious and fragrant one dish meal. This koofteh is made with rice, meat and several kinds of herbs.

I must say that my mother would make the same koofteh without the use of tomato sauce and green peppers. One day I added a little tomato paste to the liquid in the pan to give it some color, I liked the enhanced taste and color so much so that now I don’t make koofteh without it. Also, in the authentic Persian koofteh, there are no green bell peppers either but that started as an experiment too. One day I added pieces of green pepper to the sauce and the final product was a mouth watering, colorful and aromatic meal. I usually add the green peppers toward the end so they can keep their beautiful colors and stay a little bit on the firm side. If you are new to Iranian food I strongly recommend making this dish. It makes about 15-20 koofteh balls.

Hi Helen,Thanks for the question; it gives me a chance to explain this liquid saffron. What I mean is ¼ of the teaspoon ground saffron dissolved in about one table spoon of hot water. I’d suggest adding the hot water gradually and stirring to bring about the color and aroma. Sometimes, before adding it to the food I put it in the microwave for only ten seconds. A little bit of saffron goes a long way, especially if it is of a good quality. There are different varieties of saffron in Persian supermarkets or Middle Eastern specialty stores. The best saffron would have a deep red color, great aroma and enhances the flavor. Although it is a bit too expensive though, therefore I use a little bit of it each time. I buy them as threads in small packages or airtight containers and I ground them myself using a mortar and pestle.